“Being a First-Time Sunday School Teacher”

What were your feelings going into teaching Sunday school? Were you excited, worried, etc.?
I can honestly say that the 1st Grade Boys’ Class (my first class) had me scared to death. I still get a bit nervous when Promotion Sunday rolls around, and I get a new crop of kids. One thing that has helped me overcome this is that I try to get to know the group that will be coming to my class before that Sunday hits.

Did you feel prepared for your first Sunday school hour? How did you plan?
I felt very prepared my first time teaching because I had helped in the class for such a long time. My first Sunday school hour was a replica of what I had seen done.

Did things happen during that first hour that you hadn’t planned on? If so, how did you deal with it?
I can’t really remember if anything specifically out of the ordinary happened the first time I taught. I’m sure that this coming Sunday, a few unexpected things will transpire—it’s inevitable with the age group I teach now (fourth grade). However, I have found that if a situation arises, it’s best to deal with the matter quickly and keep on track.

Do you know things now that you wish you had known when you first started teaching—things that might help new teachers?
1. Just pour your heart into it. One of the toughest challenges of teaching for me was to get my students to want what I had to offer, and it can still be a challenge today. But I have found that if I’m excited about the week’s lesson, my students in turn will be excited about learning.

2. The first class hour will often set the tempo for the rest of the year. If you do not enforce rules early, teaching will seem like a task and not an honor. (Be tough that first hour! Start being nice three or four weeks into teaching the class.)

3. Do not worry about what your students think of you. I have found myself crawling around the floor like King Nebuchadnezzar hoping that no one walks by and sees me; but the more I am into my lesson, the more my students will be into it as well.

4. Understand they will repeat everything you say in and out of class.

5. Realize the students are more afraid of you than you are of them.

Developing a rapport with the students—how do you develop that?
I try to talk to a different student every week and ask him questions about his home life. Also, every year, I challenge my class with certain tasks such as memorizing Esther 8:9, the longest verse in the Bible. Children like challenges and feel a sense of accomplishment upon completing them. When I see my graduated students, I tell them about the challenges I’m issuing my new students and how awesome it is that they themselves completed those when they were in my class.

Perhaps one of the more challenging aspects for new teachers is figuring out what to do in the time allotted, all the while keeping the attention of the students and trying to make it enjoyable for them. How do you balance all of this?
I love to have fun with my class, but I also have goals of what I want them to have learned at the end of every Sunday school hour. Also, I try to stay away from activities and foods that make the students extremely excitable. If we play a game, I will schedule it for early in the class hour and then try to have a story or prayer right before I teach the week’s lesson in order to calm them.

Sometimes Sunday school teachers, even those who have been teaching for years and years, get “weary in well doing.” Perhaps it might be tougher for newer teachers because success stories of students serving the Lord, etc. won’t manifest until years down the road. How do you encourage yourself in the work of the Lord?
It is always a joy for me to see the boys that were in my class now growing in the Lord, even if only a few years have elapsed since they were my students. I am sure that, twenty years from now, it will be that much sweeter.

Now that you’ve taught Sunday school for some time, could you give our other first-time Sunday school teachers some words of advice that might help them as they take on this new ministry?
Pastor has challenged the Sunday school teachers to write a list of personal stories to use when teaching. I have personally found this to be one of the greatest helps in teaching.

What part of teaching Sunday school do you enjoy the most?
I love the personal relationships that are formed with the students. I find myself going to my students’ sporting events to cheer them on simply because they are or were in my class. It’s not about what you can get out of it—it’s what you can give to your students.